When the remote squadrons began launching on sub-orbital ballistic trajectories that would take them towards Quantico as the Republican forces on Quantico began filing last-minute training flight requests, alerts went off in the STC; Icho responded by immediately ordering that the Republican AeroSpace Fighters on Quantico be grounded, while scrambling the SLDF fighter squadrons. Icho also sent an alert to General Saul van der Kolk, the senior SLDF officer on Carver V; the measures taken by Icho proved critical to the defense of Quantico, allowing the local Cavalry, Armored, AeroSpace and Naval Regiments and training personnel to destroy most of the Republican fighters at Quantico on the ground, as well as launching enough fighters to destroy or block almost all of the Republican forces inbound from elsewhere. Unbeknownst to Icho at the time, the inbound fighters were carrying nukes, only four of which ended up managing to hit their targets, of which none of which inflicted serious damage on the SLDF facilities at Quantico.[1]